Advice in County Durham (AiCD) is an independent and informal partnership of more than 170 organisations who provide information or advice to people in County Durham. The partnership was formed with the aim of reducing duplication and making advice more coordinated, consistent, and accessible through greater collaboration between agencies working in partnership.
The partnership aims to deliver this through:
- regular network meetings to share information and best practice
- training on specialist advice topics delivered by members of AiCD
- a referral portal which helps organisations to find out information about services provided by advice agencies and to help them make referrals more easily and accurately.
AiCD is governed by a board which includes senior representation from key advice providers from the VCS, chaired by Durham Community Action. Advice providers are the organisations and agencies which provide generic or specialist advice services directly to members of the public The board also includes advice-led service leads from Durham County Council.
The board directs the strategic direction work of the partnership and helps develop new initiatives. The collaboration between partners through networking and training activities provides intelligence and insights from operational perspectives, which are reported to the Poverty Action Steering Group, the Better Together Forum and the County Durham Partnership, influencing and shaping work streams.
Board Members:
- Age UK County Durham
- County Durham Citizens Advice (Co-Vice Chair: Edward Pickering, Chief Officer)
- Durham Christian Partnership (Durham Money Advice Centre)
- Durham Community Action (Chair: Kate Burrows, Executive Director)
- Durham County Carers Service
- Durham County Council
- East Durham Trust (Co-Vice Chair: Graham Easterlow, Chief Executive)
- Livin Housing
AiCD Partnerships Support Officer: Sam Scotchbrook
Email: Sam.Scotchbrook@durham.gov.uk
Website: adviceincountydurham.org.uk
